Teams From Five States Highlight Wildcat Duals

— Springdale Har-Ber wrestling coach Nika West expects the second edition of the Wildcats Duals to be better than the first, with 17 teams from five states squaring off on the mat.

Today’s Ticket

Wildcat Duals Wrestling Tournament

WHEN: Today-Saturday

WHERE: Wildcat Arena, Springdale Har-Ber

TICKETS: $5 adults; $4 students.

NOTABLE: Seventeen teams will wrestle in dual format, beginning with pool play today at noon. ... Teams will be seeded into three brackets for Saturday’s championship round, which will begin at 9 a.m.

“Oh, the field this year is much better, I think,” West said. “We’ve got quality teams. I’ve heard good things about Southlake Carroll out of Texas. Blackwell, Okla., is the defending 3A state champions, and a couple teams out of Missouri are pretty tough.”

West said he wasn’t sure about a tournament favorite, but promised quality wrestling.

Defending tournament champion Edmund (Okla.) Santa Fe returns, while tournament host Har-Ber, the 6A-7A state champions, finished third a year ago.

Depth will be the key for the team that earns the Wildcat Duals title because of its format. Instead of the more familiar bracket style, in which teams with standouts in two or three weight classes can pile up points, teams will match up in all 14 weight classes.

Teams will be split into three pools, and each team will wrestle four duals today, beginning at noon. The top two teams in each pool based on point totals will advance to the championship bracket on Saturday.

The next seven teams will be placed into a middle bracket, with the bottom four teams slotted into another bracket to assure strong competition, West said.

Pool A consists of Har-Ber, Searcy, Greenwood, Lebanon, Mo., and Carroll High of Southlake, Texas. Pool B is made up of Edmund (Okla.) Santa Fe, Northwest High of Justin, Texas, Branson, Mo., Fayetteville, Fort Smith Southside and Greenwood “B” team.

Pool C is Blackwell, Okla., Har-Ber “B” team, Conway, Fort Smith Northside, Springdale High and St. Benedict of Cordova, Tenn.


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